


A Drop in the Ocean

by Iamnotthewriteryourelookingfor



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Pirate, Canon-Typical Violence, F/F, For Femslash Big Bang 2016, Fusion, Lots of Rubys, Pirate AU, Pirate Gems!, Pre-Greg, So many Rubys, lots of lesbians, pre-steven, slightly canon compliant
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-20
Updated: 2016-12-20
Packaged: 2018-09-03 17:20:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 6,389
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8722237
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Iamnotthewriteryourelookingfor/pseuds/Iamnotthewriteryourelookingfor
Summary: The Diamonds send their 4 strongest Rubys to hunt down a Sea Gem that escaped from Blue Diamond many years ago so they can drown all the humans that still live on planet earth and stamp out the rebels who calls themselves the 'Crystal Gems'





	1. Front Cover

**Author's Note:**

> For furyofthetimelord's Femslash Big Bang 2016

 

Also found on my [tumbr](http://notthewriteryourelookingfor.tumblr.com/post/154715028181/front-cover-for-my-steven-universe-fem-slash)


	2. Chapter 2

The Crystal Gems were put in separate cells faraway from each other. Rose sat silently in her cell, trying to form a plan to escape and rescue her friends. She had escaped the Diamonds before but she hadn’t been locked up then.

She had seen the destruction the Diamonds were causing, damaging this beautiful planet perhaps beyond repair. She began to weep again. That’s when she heard someone moving around nearby.

“Hello?” She called out, leaning towards the bars. “Who’s there?” She was surprised when a Pearl, dressed in pink, timidly emerged from around the corner. Dressed completely in pink, Rose recognised her as Pink Diamond’s favourite Pearl. Despite being her favourite, Pink Diamond treated this Pearl cruelly, nothing she did was ever enough, she was never pretty enough or quiet enough. It made Rose sad when she had to run, leaving gems like this Pearl to their fates in the hopes that she would be able to help them another day. 

“It’s you.” She smiled and Pearl became visibly flustered.

“You remember me?” She mumbled, tucking a strand of pink hair behind her ear. Rose giggled.

“How could I forget you?” Pearl’s blush deepened.

“You were always saying such strange things.” Pearl mumbled

“You mean things like ‘Gems are people, not possessions’?” Rose asked and Pearl chuckled.

“Yes. That was one of my favourites.” She giggled then trailed off.

“You want it to be true, don’t you?” Rose asked, watching Pearl closely. “You want to believe that you don’t belong to anyone.” Pearl smiled sadly.

“I’m a Pearl.” She said. “I belong to Pink Diamond. She is my master.”

“No.” Rose said so firmly Pearl was startled. “You are your own gem and you belong to no one.” Pearl seemed to be considering something.

“Will you take me with you?” She asked, her voice full of hope “If I get you out of there?”

“Of course.”

“I can’t fight or anything. But I can-”

“That doesn’t matter.” Rose insisted. “I will help you.” Pearl thought for a moment before deactivating the lock. “Welcome to the Crystal Gems.” Rose smiled, kissing Pearl on the cheek as she walked past.

There was a gasp from the door and they turned to see Pink Diamond staring at them with disgust. “Pearl? You ungrateful little slut.” She hissed, pulling out her sword. “I’ll shatter you for this.” She lunged at the two gems but Rose blocked her with her shield.

“Get my friends out, I’ll handle this." She whispered. “You won’t touch her.” Rose told Pink Diamond. “I won’t let you.”

“I am your Diamond.” Pink Diamond hissed as Pearl slipped out another door. “You are supposed to obey me. You’re **my** gem!”

“I am Rose Quartz!” Rose yelled, pulling out her sword and fighting Pink Diamond. “I am the leader of the Crystal Gems and I belong to no one.” She backed Pink Diamond out of the room with the ferocity of her attacks. “And I’ll make sure that you Diamonds lose everything.”

 

***

 

The Bismuth regarded Pearl suspiciously.

“And who do you belong to, little one?” She asked as Pearl opened her cage. Pearl took a deep breath, clenched her fists and looked deep into Bismuth’s eyes

“No one.” She said, daring Bismuth to deny her this new-found freedom. But Bismuth’s face split into a huge grin.

“That’s right!” She laughed and grabbed Pearl into a huge bear hug. “Let’s grab Garnet.” She proclaimed when she finally let Pearl go.

“I thought there were two other gems.” Pearl said as Bismuth took off after taking Pearl by the hand.

“Yeah, Sapphire and Ruby. They’re called Garnet.” Bismuth paused. “I don’t know where they are.” She admitted and let Pearl take the lead, her hand still encased in Bismuth’s.

 

***

 

Rose and the Diamond’s fight had escalated and they were now fighting on the roof of Diamond’s citadel. Rain was beating down around them, making the tiles slippery and dangerous.

“You can’t win!” Diamond hissed as their swords clashed. “Your rebellion is nothing but a drop in the ocean. A blip in our history. Not even that.”

“That’s where you’re wrong.” Rose told her. Rose and the Diamond’s fight had escalated and they were now fighting on the roof of Diamond’s citadel. Rain was beating down around them, making the tiles slippery and dangerous.

“You can’t win!” Diamond hissed as their swords clashed. “Your rebellion is nothing but a drop in the ocean. A blip in our history. Not even that.”

“That’s where you’re wrong.” Rose told her. “We will be the end of your history. And the start of the human’s.”

 

***

 

Bismuth could have laughed at Pearl’s expression when Ruby and Sapphire fused; a mixture of confusion and wonder.

“Didn’t think two different gems could fuse, did you?” She giggled.

“Do… do you think…I….” Pearl trailed off, blushing deeply. Bismuth laughed again and swept Pearl and Garnet into a group hug.

“Who knows? That’s what’s so amazing about it!”

“Where’s Rose?” Garnet asked Pearl still in Bismuth’s arms.

“She’s fighting Pink Diamond.” Pearl said and was immediately dropped by Bismuth.

“What?” She gasped as Garnet and Pearl picked themselves up. “Quick!” She grabbed their hands and ran off. Almost flying up and down the corridors, looking for her commander.

They arrived at a window just in time to see Pink Diamond fall. She shattered on the ground at the base of the tower; Rose Quartz still standing on the roof above them.

 

 

 

 

_The two of us ain’t gonna follow your rules_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> To be continued in 'The Battle of the Gems'


	3. Chapter 3

Ruby was Blue Diamond’s most trusted lieutenant, the strongest out of all the Rubys from all the Diamonds. The Pink Diamond would never admit to being jealous that the Blue one had managed to create a gem in her colour that was stronger than any of the same she could create. But they had all wanted Rubies. Rubies, Pearls and Peradots; those were the gems that ensured the Diamond’s worlds were run smoothly, the Peradots made the technology, the Rubies guarded their Diamonds and the Pearls looked gorgeous, decorative gems the Diamonds used to show off their extravagance. The only problem in the Diamond’s perfect world were now the humans. They were small in number and scattered around, huddled in groups around sources of fresh water which they seem to need to survive. The few that the Diamonds had captured proved how fragile and useless humans were and how, even though they needed water to survive, too much would kill them. So the diamonds decided to track down the sea gem, a gem that had been created by Blue Diamond and then discarded as it seemed as though she was useless; Gems had no use for water. But the sea gem could drown the world, killing all the humans and the other useless creatures that continued to appear. So that was why Blue’s Ruby, along with the strongest Rubys of the other Diamonds had set off across the sea in a beautiful boat built by the most skilled Peradots; a large vessel of wood and bronze with large sails and oars for when the wind died down.  The Diamonds were not patient gems.

 

Blue’s Ruby was in charge, a fact that she was quite proud of, the captain of this vessel, named the _Ruby’s Searcher_. Ruby liked having her name on the side of a ship, even though there were almost a hundred other Ruby’s on the earth. She stood at the helm, steering the large ship across the open ocean. They had been at sea for several weeks with no sign of what they were looking for, or land, or anything really. Yellow’s Ruby, a frustratingly calm Ruby was keeping an eye on where they were going, but sometimes it felt like she didn’t know where they were going or how far they’d come. Ruby herself was susceptible to bouts of rage, it was what gave her the strength she had. Pink’s Ruby was determined but a little distracted, as if she was thinking about several things at once while White’s Ruby acted as though she was above everything, proud and elegant. A Diamond’s gems would often reflect their personalities to some level, since they were all trained by the Diamond’s second-in-command, a customised gem feeding the lower-gems every piece of information, thought and reaction they could need.  However, only Jasper, Yellow Diamond’s Commander was still around. Ever since the Diamonds had decided to destroy the humans, a small group of wayward gems had been waging war against them. They called themselves the _Crystal Gems_ and believed that life on earth was sacred and beautiful. Ruby was sad that gems had become so corrupted as to believe any organic life on this planet was worth saving, especially their leader, a large beautiful gem called Rose Quartz. Ruby had never met her but had been told stories; she used to be Pink Diamond’s Commander; a beautiful, strong, and fierce warrior with the power to heal, she had been called the ‘ _perfect creation’_ but she had become corrupted somehow and had turned away from all that was good. 

 

Pink Diamond’s Ruby took over steering at night, I was the only way to keep the peace on board. And even then it was difficult. White Diamond’s Ruby had labelled herself as the peace-keeper, much like her Diamond was in the Council of Diamonds, it was her idea to let Pink’s Ruby steer at night. She was always stepping in between the two of them when tempers flared up. Yellow’s Ruby was always too busy fiddling with her technology, working on improvements to the steering, course-correction.

 

The stars twinkled above them, reflecting off the calm ocean. Ruby took a deep breath and looked out over the stillness, if the wind didn’t pick up again, they would have to begin rowing, they were on a mission. Ruby was just watching the small wisps of clouds passing overhead when she heard something.  

It was a voice, soft and quiet, far off in the distance. It was someone singing.

 

“Do you hear that?” She gasped.

 

White and Yellow Ruby ran up to join her on the bow and listened.

“It’s coming from the South East!” Yellow shouted as the singing stopped. “Adjust the course.”

“Do you think it’s the Sea Gem?” Ruby asked.

“Who else would be out here?” Yellow snapped before returning to her charts.

“The humans call Sea Gems ‘Sirens’ and believe they sing to men to draw them to their deaths.” White Ruby explained.

“Well than it’s a good thing we’re not men.” Pink Ruby shouted from the stern, where she was still steering.

“I was thinking it might be the Crystal Gems.” Ruby said in a soft voice.

“Then we’ll catch them too.” White Ruby told her before returning to the lower decks. “Our Diamonds will be so pleased.” Ruby sighed and began to listen for the song again, the soft rise and fall of notes that seemed to call to her specifically.

 

It didn’t take long before their new course put them straight into the path of a tremendous storm. The wind blew and the sea raged and the Ruby’s struggled to keep the ship upright. Ruby was steering towards the singing, which was becoming louder and louder despite the lightning and thunder all around them. It was like the singing was comi9ng from inside Ruby’s gem, rather than from someone else’s mouth; the soft rise and fall of notes that seemed like they should have words but she couldn’t hear them. Or think of them. 

 

The boat rolled violently several times in a row as all of the Ruby’s clung on for their lives; they didn’t want to know what would happen if they fell into a sea this angry, they didn’t know if their gems would survive it.

 

The boat rolled again, this time throwing Yellow Ruby across the deck causing her to slam into Ruby, knocking her away from the wheel. As Ruby flailed, trying to find another hand hold, the boat shook again, throwing Ruby overboard.

She hit the dark water hard and even though her physical form somehow held, she was pulled in all directions by the currents and her vision dimmed.

 

Just before she blacked out she saw something as blue as the sky on a sunny day, brighter than anything that could be in the ocean. Something different… something comforting…

***

 

Ruby woke up on a small island. It wasn’t even an island, really, it was more of a lone pile of rocks jutting out of the now-still ocean. She looked around but she couldn’t see anything; no ship, no gems, no sign of any storm. Just flat, crystal clear, blue ocean as far as she could see. She didn’t know how far the storm had pulled her away from the other Ruby’s and her ship.

The water rippled near her feet and a a woman with a long mane of pale blue hair rose pout of the water. Overall she was almost the exact colour of the ocean, with different shaded parts on her dresses to reflect the different states of the ocean. Her skin was a pale blue/grey, her hair covered all of her face except her mouth and her dress included long, near-white, blue gloves. Ruby could only see down to her shoulders clearly but her long dress flowed out underneath the surface.

“I’m glad you are awake.” She said in a soft, low voice. A voice that Ruby recognised.

“Was it you singing before?” she asked. And the woman nodded, pulling herself up onto the rocks beside Ruby; her hair, skin and clothes impossibly dry as she’d been completely submerged.

“Yes. My name is Sapphire.”

“I’m Ruby. you saved me.” She added after a moment of silence.

“I did.”

“Why?’ Sapphire didn’t answer immediately, she sat in silence for such a long time that Ruby wondered if she hadn’t heard her.

“There are many reasons but most off all, I believe life is important.” She said eventually.

They sat in silence for a long time, the ocean lapping at the rocks. Small fish swimming in and out of small cracks below the surface, chasing each other through the seaweed.

“Where am I?” Ruby eventually asked

“halfway between the Diamond’s Citadel and the Peradot’s main hub. What are you doing so far from your Diamonds in the middle of the largest ocean on planet earth?”

“We’re looking for a sea gem.” Ruby told her, excited to tell this woman how important she was to the diamonds.

“You won’t find her.” Sapphire said in a way that told Ruby she was 100% sure about the outcome.

“Is she dead?”

“No. I just know that you just won’t find her.”

“I thought maybe you were…?”

“No, I’m not a sea gem.” Sapphire said and the silence returned. It took a little while for Ruby to realise it was not an awkward silence. But she couldn’t put her finger on how she felt about the silence, about Sapphire herself. _Perhaps she was a sea gem?_ _Or was she telling the truth? Were the Rubys’ journey destined to fail?_ Ruby suddenly felt something akin to fear or dread; the Diamonds would not be pleased if the Rubys returned without their prize. Sapphire’s hand enclosed around hers.

“You’re shaking. Do not be afraid. I’m sure the Diamonds will understand.” She said, but Ruby heard a small crack in her voice.

“You’re lying.”

“The Diamonds are not understanding people….. what if you didn’t go back?” Sapphire asked quietly

“I could never abandon my Diamond.” Ruby said in a stern voice, her anger flaring. “You don’t know if we’ll find the sea gem or not.” She had always been a hot head but now Sapphire pulled her hand back as if Ruby had burnt her. “How do I know you’re not the sea gem?!”

“I am not.” Sapphire, her voice not wavering in the face of Ruby’s anger.

 

Before either of them could say anything else, a net flew out of the water, trapping Sapphire against the rocks. It was Pink and White Ruby. they appeared from under the surface of the water, pinning sapphire down.

“Well done, Ruby.” White Ruby said.

“You caught the Sea Gem.”

_But had she?_

 

 

 

_I am their fury_

_I am their patience_


	4. Chapter 4

 

Sapphire didn’t fight the Rubys as they took her aboard their ship. She could see all of the outcomes to this part of her life, even if it led to the end of it. The Rubys were doing their job, the job they had been created for, the job that was all that they knew. It was time she met her Diamond, Blue Diamond, again and face the consequences of running away.

There was a 60% chance that the Diamonds would agree to use her powers to stop the Crystal Gems

A 25% chance of Blue Diamond using her powers in secret to take control of the Council away from White Diamond

A 14% chance she would be shattered either by the Diamonds or accidently during an attack by the Crystal Gems

And a 1% chance that she may escape intact.

 

She had already seen every outcome of her life and was at peace with it all.

 

***

Ruby had been assigned to watch over Sapphire as the other Rubys believed that she had she had captured Sapphire herself and had just been waiting for backup. _Look after her_ , they said, _don’t let any harm come to her_. Ruby felt ashamed at Sapphire’s capture. This was a gem that had saved her from an unknown fate and in return, Ruby was taking her back to their Diamonds as a sea gem. And if she wasn’t what the Diamonds wanted, they would shatter her.

She looked to Sapphire, locked in a crystal bubble of water, her dress and hair floating around her form.

“Do not be ashamed.” Sapphire said, her voice still so calm Ruby wanted to scream. “This was bound to happen eventually.”

“How can you be so sure of everything?” Ruby asked, her anger showing. “How can you be so calm?” 

“I can see the future.” Sapphire said. “All futures. The future is like water, it runs in streams, pools into lakes and rushes down waterfalls. I have seen every possible moment of my life from beginning to end and I have accepted it. This is just a part of it. And if it leads to my end, than that is what happens.” Ruby stared at Sapphire in silence, her words smothering Ruby’s anger like a bucket of water over a fire. 

“You saw me?”

“Of course.  I’ve seen everything. Including the Crystal Gems.” She added just as there was a large explosion. Everyone on the ship was thrown violently to one side. The orb holding Sapphire shattered, showering Sapphire in broken shards.

“Sapphire!” Ruby shouted, rushing to her side.

“ **Ruby! We need to fuse**!” White Diamond called from the deck above them. The ship shook again.

“Go.” Sapphire said, rising onto her hands and knees. “You need to protect your crew.”

Ruby ran up onto deck just as the other three Ruby’s began to fuse. Ruby jumped into the glow and immediately became a larger Ruby. As a single being, they faced the oncoming Crystal Gem; Rose Quartz.

 

Large pink curls and shining crystal shield, Rose was a Quartz to be reckoned with. At 10 feet tall, she had been created to be both graceful and formidable. So when she defected to the side of the humans, it was devastating; to the Diamonds, to their plans and to their soldiers. Their ships were raided, their compounds emptied as Rose’s soldiers stole everything they could; from weapons to wrenches. And sometimes gems were convinced to defect. The Diamonds issued a decree that no gem was to speak or listen to a Crystal Gem as an answer to the large number of gems who were ‘stolen’ during interrogations and guard duty; their loyalty somehow stolen simply by the words uttered by the Rebels.

Rose was alone, which was unusual as reports all stated that she had always sent in waves of dispensable Quartzes while Rose stayed safe in the background, giving orders from a safe distance.

They swung a punch at Rose who blocked it with her shield. She frowned in confusion at the fusion in front of her.

“Now, what are the four strongest Rubys doing all the way out here?” She asked; her voice soft and joyful as they exchanged blows hard enough to shake the boat. The Rubys didn’t answer, instead they roared, throwing an oversized fist at Rose, who ducked out of the way, causing the fist to slam into the main mast. The mast shattered but none of the gems paid any attention as Rose knocked the Rubys off their feet. The deck broke apart.

“Oh no.”  Rose gasped as the ship began to break apart. The Ruby’s unfused as parts of the ship began to sink into the water. “What…..” Rose had seen Sapphire, in her prison orb, through the holes in the upper decks. She began moving towards her, curiosity in her eyes. And something else.

“Don’t touch her!” Ruby shouted, running so that she could be between Rose and Sapphire. As Ruby reached Sapphire’s orb,   it broke into pieces as the ship below it fully broke apart, leaving Sapphire hanging far above the water. “Sapphire!” Ruby hollered, launching herself at the slowly falling gem. Sapphire opened her arms on instinct and they collided as Sapphire fell towards the ocean and were consumed by light before they hit the surface of the water.

 

 

 

_I am a conversation_


	5. Chapter 5

When Ruby woke up she was someone different.

She was on an island; with golden sand, small waves, and tall trees.

She groaned and raised her hand to her head and froze. Her hand was dark blue. And bigger than usual with long slender fingers. And she had gems on both of her palms.

 _Stay calm_. A voice inside her head said. 

“Sapphire? Her body was taller, curvier than it had ever been, a mixture of blue and pink patchwork. She stood for a second in her new form, her brain scrambling for an explanation before whatever balance Sapphire and Ruby’s gems had found in order to fuse broke and the two gems fell apart.

Ruby sat in the sand for a while, trying to understand what had just happened. She’d never heard of two different gems fusing, it had never happened before. She didn’t understand anything; how being the main one. But also there was a who; _who had been created_? When she and the other Rubys had formed, they simply became a larger version of themselves. But when Ruby and Sapphire had formed, they had created someone else, someone new.

“Sapphire?” Ruby whispered, wondering if the strange fusion had hurt her in some way. She wondered if she should touch Sapphire’s arm but hesitated. “Sapphire?” she asked again, louder.

Then she noticed the ground around Sapphire had begun to freeze. She gasped and pulled Sapphire up into her arms so she was away from the ice before she realised that it was Sapphire creating the ice. Then the clouds above them opened up. So Ruby hurried them into the forest. Surprisingly, they found a small mountain that had been hidden by the trees which had a small cave at the bottom. Ruby stopped just inside the cave and looked to Sapphire; she hadn’t reacted to Ruby moving them off the beach, it was like she was in a trance.

 “It’s all different.” Sapphire said, still in Ruby’s arm.

“Huh?” Sapphire wasn’t speaking to Ruby, it was as though she had forgotten Ruby was even there. “What’s all different?” Sapphire seemed to blink, as though she came back to the present. She looked at Ruby’s confused face.

“Everything.” She told Ruby, as if that explained anything, and got out of Ruby’s arms. She sat down and brushed her wet hair off her face, revealing only a single eye. She was beautiful.

It took Ruby a moment to realise that she was on fire.

She jumped back then decided that it would be better if she built the small flames into an actual fire. She didn’t know anything about Sapphire, but it gave her something to do. At least for a little while.

“What kind of Ruby am I supposed to be?” Ruby began to panic, pacing back and forth in front of the fire, Sapphire watched her from her position on the ground. “Look at this? I didn’t find a sea gem, I’m stranded on an island, I don’t know where my crew is and my ship was just destroyed by Rose Quartz. And on top of all that, I dragged you into it. How am I going to protect you?”

“You already did.” Sapphire said, her voice as even as always.

“What?”

“You saved me.” She said in a way that told Ruby that if she hadn’t acted the way she had on the boat, Sapphire would have been shattered. There was a moment of silence before Ruby sniffed and sat down on the other side of the fire, opposite Sapphire. They sat in silence, each thinking about the gem that had been created when they fused; the mixture of their colours, the long limbs and deep curves, three eyes that had shown Sapphire depth perception for the first time in her life.

 _She had been gorgeous_. _And powerful._

“I’ve seen gems fused before.” Sapphire said, sounding uncertain for the first time “But I had no idea that’s what it felt like. I always thought…. I never realised that fusion… that you disappear like that.”

“It’s never like that!” Ruby almost shouted. “Whenever I fuse, it’s always just been me, but bigger… I’ve never had a third eye before.”

“I’ve never had more than one.” Sapphire joked “It was nice.”

Ruby’s blush felt as hot as the fire.

 

***

 

When the rain stopped, they decided to look around their small island to see if any of the other Rubys had turned up there, or if there was any humans or anything that could help them to get off the island. What they found was a beautiful utopia; trees, butterflies, birds, a lake. It was larger than they thought and just a little way off, they could see the mainland.

They swam towards it, arriving at a rocky shore. Ruby helped Sapphire up to the tree line as mountains shadowed everything from far away. There were all kinds of plants and animals running around, paying no attention to the two gems who were seeing a whole new world.

Ruby had never seen anything except the Diamond’s compounds, she had thought everywhere else was a wasteland, that the Diamonds had built their world from nothing. Sapphire had only seen the world below the surface of the water. In some places it was as colourful as this world, but other places were nothing but dark hues. That didn’t mean the sea wasn’t full of life, but it was nothing like the life she was seeing now.

When the sun went down they lay down in an open patch of grass and watched the stars.

“You said I was different?” Sapphire whispered.

“And you hadn’t before?” Ruby asked

“Of course not. When would I have?” Sapphire had been alone for most of her life, after the Pink Diamond had failed to create a sea gem and had discarded without a thought to her possible abilities. This was something Ruby knew, even though Sapphire had never fully explained it.

“I’m so sorry.” Ruby tried to say

“No. Don’t be.”

“And now you’re here. Maybe forever.”

“Well what about you?”

“What about me?”

“You’re here too. We’re here together.” Their hands joined and they stepped into the middle of the clearing. They weren’t sure how they fused before or what they were planning on doing if they managed to recreate what happened. Sapphire hummed a song as they danced beneath the stars, among the fireflies, and Ruby’s heart formed the words. Their gems began to glow as they found their rhythm. 

 

_Where did we go?_

_What did we do?_

_I think we made something entirely new_

_And it wasn’t quite me_

_And it wasn’t quite you_

_I think it was someone entirely new_

 

Walking as a fusion was different to walking as themselves but it didn’t take them long to figure out, even though their balance was off due to their new, longer, legs. They thought they had it for a moment and then they tripped and rolled down a hill. When they looked up, they found themselves face to face with a large, multi-coloured gem, a Bismuth, standing in a forest of pink roses.

“Don’t hurt her!” Ruby shouted, then looked down at her one body and realised how weird that sounded. “Don’t hurt me?” she said again, trying out this new, deep voice she was sharing with Sapphire.

“Who are you?” the Bismuth asked, pointing a sword at their head.

“I’m…. er……” _who were they now?_

Then they heard a gasp and saw Rose Quartz run toward them.

“It’s you.” She said as she came to where they were. “The fusion.”

“We didn’t mean to fuse.” They said, then added “Well we did this time.”

“No, no, please, I’m happy to see you again.” She smiled, her face kind.

“I don’t upset you?” They asked. They had assumed that other gems would find their fusion disgusting.

“Who cares about what I think?” Rose chuckled, dropping onto her knees to be eye level with them. “How you feel is bound to be far more interesting.”

“How I feel?” They were so confused by Rose’s words and searched inside themselves to find a decent answer for her “I feel lost… and scared… and, and happy. Why am I so sure that I’d rather be this than everything I was supposed to be? And that I’d rather do this than anything I’d supposed to do?” Rose Quartz chuckled again and stood up beside the Bismuth.

“Welcome to Earth.”

“Can you tell me,” They asked, standing. “How was Ruby able to alter fate? To change everything? Why was Sapphire so willing to give up everything? What, or who am I?”

“No more questions.” Rose said. “Don’t ever question this.” She took their hands, one gem in each palm. “You are the answer.”

“But what is the answer?”

“Love.”    

 

 

 

_We are gonna stay like this forever_


	6. Chapter 6

Rose Quartz and Bismuth, her armorer, were quite happy to introduce Ruby and Sapphire to the rest of the Crystal Gems; there were several dozen different kinds of quartz, grown on Earth and back home on the original Gem planet. While Rose introduced them as two different gems, she insisted that their fusion should be introduced to the group.

“Since you feel more comfortable together, than that is the way that you should live.” She insisted as they formed and took their hand. “Perhaps we should find a name for you, I’m sure your fusion would have a name all her own.”

“I think, that is, we think, our name is… Garnet?” they weren’t sure where the name came from, it just seemed to fit them. “And together, we want to fight for the right to be ourselves. The Diamonds would never agree to something like this.” Rose smiled sadly and nodded.

“I’ll let the other gems know. You might get a few looks but they’ll be supportive.” She promised.

Suddenly there was an alarm.

“Enemy Gems.” Rose gasped and took off running, Garnet’s hand still grasped in her huge one. Crystal Gems were jumping onto warp pads as the fused form of the other three Rubys smashed through a section of the shrubbery, scattering pink petals everywhere.

“Where is the Ruby you kidnapped?” they roared as Bismuth joined Rose and Garnet at the other side of the camp. Garnet stepped forward and unfused. The glow attracted the attention of the Rubys

“I’m right here!” Ruby shouted.

“What was that?” The Fused Ruby screamed. “What kind of Crystal-Gem-Experimentation is that?”

“It’s not experimentation!” Ruby shouted back but Sapphire took her hand

“It won’t matter. They think we’ve been brainwashed.” She said in a soft voice. “And they’re not alone.”

As she said that, several other large Ruby fusions crashed into the warp pads, trapping the few Crystal Gems that still remained. Ruby grabbed Sapphire to protect her and they fused, a little accidently but they felt safer as Garnet than they did as Ruby and Sapphire. There were cries from all the other fusions around them who had never seen anything like it before. There were cries of ‘ _unbelievable_ ’ and ‘ _disgusting_ ’

“ _Shatter them_.” Someone shouted.

“ **No!** ” it was the original Rubys who had accompanied Ruby on her journey. “The Diamonds want that blue gem and they’ll want the leader of the Crystal Gems captured.” The pack of Gems closed in on them. Ruby panicked and Garnet suddenly unfused.

“It will be easier if we don’t fight.” Sapphire said, holding Ruby’s hand

“Don’t fight? What kind of advice is that?” Bismuth gasped. “We are the Crystal Gems!” She hollered at the advancing army and attacked.

 

 ***

 

In the ensuing madness, a Crystal Gem was shattered, a peridot, and two of the Ruby fusions where destroyed before the remainder of the Crystal Gems were rounded up; it was Rose, Bismuth, Sapphire and Garnet, the rest had either escaped or been destroyed. The four gems were kept in separate cells and Ruby was going insane not being close to Sapphire. They had been together for only a few days but…. _Was this love? This madness_? Ruby had heard that the humans were obsessed with it. Why would they be obsessed with something that hurt so much? She punched the wall so hard it hurt.

She could see Rose Quartz in a cell opposite her; she was sitting in the middle of the space, her long curls falling down over her eyes, tears rolling down her usually-rosy cheeks. She was silent during their voyage home, even though Bismuth was beating the walls of her cell more than Ruby. Sapphire was singing that song Ruby had heard before the storm. She missed being fused with Sapphire even though she’d only been fused for a short while.

There was a rush of movement as the ship reached the port; they heard heavy footsteps and White Ruby appeared followed by several large gems. They were mostly purple and nearly 8 feet tall. Ruby had heard the Peradots talking about these new soldiers; Amethysts, bigger and stronger than any other gem before, grown deep inside the earth. They were intimidating, brutish and didn’t seem all that intelligent.

They were obviously breed for fighting the Crystal Gems.

White Ruby went to Rose’s cage and unlocked it.

“You killed my friend.” Rose said in a low voice. “I hope you will never have to understand my pain.” One of the Amethysts grabbed Rose’s arm and pulled her out of the cell. The rest of the Crystal Gems were pushed into line behind her. Large crystalline structures towered over the small group of Gems as they were marched through the White Diamonds compound to her intricately designed citadel. Everything was white or clear and decorated with pearlescent and gold.

It looked slightly organic, like it had grown in twirling spires and smooth lines like coral. Each of the Diamond’s preferences were obvious in the design of their compounds; White Diamond enjoyed simplicity and elegance, Pink Diamond liked extravagance with every shade of pink imaginable, Blue Diamond took her inspiration from the sea with curtains of water and crystal and a sense of everything flowing towards her citadel. On the other hand, Yellow Diamond preferred everything mechanical, hard lines and geometric shapes. Each of the Diamond’s gems reflected their tastes as well and simply by looking at a gem, one could tell who they were loyal to.

Every gem they saw belonged to the White Diamond.

When they entered the throne room they found all four Diamonds waiting for them. Around the Diamonds stood their three or four Pearls who were a lot like servants but more commonly used for decoration. Four Pearls dressed in white knelt around White Diamond’s throne, still like statues, while the other Diamond’s Pearls stood near them but slightly back, away from the centre of the council gathering. Rose had voiced her anger about using the Pearls as decoration back at their camp. She believed no one should be owned by anyone. Ruby had a feeling that the sight of nearly 16 Pearls, who were all there simply for the Diamonds to boast about their wealth without speaking, was making her angry and cementing her defiance of the Diamonds and their way of life.

White Diamond was the one to speak to them in her low, smooth voice.

“Rose Quartz, the leader of the Crystal Gems, in chains at least.” She cast a bored glance at the other gems. “And some of the crystal gems, but what is Blue Diamond’s Ruby doing there? Don’t tell me she has become corrupted.”

“It is worse than that, my Diamond.” White Ruby said, stepping foreward. “She and the sea gem fused.” The Diamonds gasped at Ruby’s words. They exchanged disgusted looks before White Diamond managed to compose herself.

“The fusion of two different gems has never been done before and I will not have it on my planet.”

“This is not your planet!” Rose snapped at her, stepping in front of Ruby to block White Diamond’s view of her. White Diamond’s jaw clenched slightly before she motioned to one of the Amethysts.

“Take them away.” She said. “I will oversee their shattering later.”

“What about the sea gem?” White Ruby asked as the Amethysts began to pull the gems out. White Diamond regarded Sapphire coldly.

“I don’t believe she is a sea gem. You wasted our time. As I told you before, Blue Diamond, Pink Diamond, the sea gem is dead. This gem will be the same soon enough.”

“Sapphire!” Ruby screamed, trying to get to Sapphire as they were dragged off in different directions.

 

 

 

_If you break us apart we’ll just come back together_


End file.
